Hot as Flame, Cold as Ice
March 11, 1016: Opal Shore The two women joined as one in ball of passion; dark tapestries hung from the ceiling and dim light shined in from behind them. Sovereigns fell about the women and wine splashed upon their embrace. Fisher Ramsey sat on a bed of many pillows laughing merrily with two more women waiting on him; one poured his wine while the other rubbed his shoulders. "The Gods really do love me! I tell ye ladies, I don' know how I could ever tire of this." He laughed deep and wiped his mouth with his Marshals cloak. Just then a young man burst through the tapestry: "Marshal Ramsey!" His voice cracked slightly. "Orders from Captain Tolbert." He handed Fisher a sealed letter; the crest of the Marshal shone clear, dried in the wax of the seal. Fishers smacked the woman's hands away from his shoulders as he reached for it, "By the Seven, can a man not enjoy a few simple pleasures?!" He had been at the brothel all night and all morning. He opened the letter and began to read and as his eyes scanned the parchment his face turned more and more grievous. He cursed aloud for several moments after finishing the letter then stood angrily. "The man at the base is one most likely to receive shit!" He grabbed the boy and departed his oasis of pleasure. He dragged the boy from the brothel, all the while cursing and badmouthing his superiors. Finally he reached the door, "Tell Captain Tolbert I am on my way to meet Camillus..." He paused and took one last glance inside. "God's have damned me again." He turned the boy around and booted him in the behind out of frustration. "And tell em next time they need me, send a woman with the message so she may satisfy my cock first!' The boy ran off and Fisher turned down the street towards the gates of Opal Shore. "What's the point of being a Marshal if I cannot enjoy the perks?" He thought as went to the stables and prepared to meet Camillus. April/May 1016: Whither Rock Islands The ship rocked with the churn of the water and gulls flew along side; their black silhouettes ran in line with the morning sun. "Guaw! Guaw!" The gulls squawked back and forth. "Guah! Guah!" "Piss off ya damned winged vermin!" Fisher was keeping watch over the waters while the crew and Camillus sat down for dinner. Fisher was upset at being excluded, even though the watch shifted between crew members. Despite his complaints he still found enjoyment on his own. He casually sipped from one of his secret bottles of wine and daydreamed about returning to his whore house back in Arn. "Nothin' good ever came from Larkenvale. Nothin' good ever came from anywhere..." He took a heavy drink then eased back in his seat. "...why be a Marshal if you...you cant..." His chin fell to his chest as he dozed off into a happy dream. He rose from his seat and gazed over the Sea of Embers but the sea was gone. As far as Fisher could see the water had been replaced with breasts. Breasts of all sizes filled his view and desire filled his heart. Without hesitation he leaped from the side of the boat and into the embrace of the breasts. As he connected with the surface the flesh gave way to an open fall and fisher struggled, to no avail, to remain on the surface but he sank like a stone. Further and further through the breasts he fell, hotter and hotter his skin became until all his vision was engulfed in flames. He felt a tug on his shoulder and awoke. As the real world came back into view he saw that it was beginning to get late and Camillus was standing over him. "Can you please refrain from making a mockery of the Marshals at least while you remain in my company." Camillus was not pleased and he made it known as he poured the rest of the wine overboard. "By the Many-Breasted mother, no!" Fisher exclaimed as he rushed to catch the lost drops of the bottle. "My wine." he whimpered as he lickd the last of it off his fingers. "Get a hold of yourself Marshal Ramsey. We are on the hunt for a dangerous Odaran and I will not allow your sodden behavior to jeopardize our mission." Fisher stood up and gazed in fury at Camillus. He thought of grabbing his dagger but the fury soon left his mind in place of reason or at least in place of fear; Camillus might not be a large man but he was more skilled a swordsman and could kill Fisher with ease if he desired. "Im going to bed." He pushed passed Camillus and made for his hammock downstairs. Camillus stared at his back until he disappeared from sight. He took his seat and began the watch for the night. They would be passing Blackmist in a few hours and would be on their way to the eastern most islands for supplies before heading to Arkrest. The Odaran was going to be there, he was going to the Festival of the Sun. June 1016: Arkrest, Festival of the Sun "Cho'ere ar' we 'ookin'?" Fisher spat with a mouth full of cakes and cookies. The Festival's scantly clad fire dancers had distracted his duties at the moment; they weaved between the crowd allowing their colorful shawls to caress the limbs of passers-by. Camillus walked next to him and, ignoring the dancers and Fisher's comment with a scoff, he scanned the crowd. Their was no sign of the almost certainly fake 'Lady Bell' and her slave or of the Odaran, Vantar. He had awoke that day to dark cloud on his mind and for some reason the words of Brayden swirled into his head as he thought deep of the situation: "...I'm warnin' ya. This man is dangerous." "Brayden had stood toe to toe against eight men, and lived. How could one, seemingly crippled man, scare him so?" He spoke under his breath, Fisher heard nothing. Camillus was smart enough to know a bad situation when he saw it and he couldn't shake the feeling like their was something he was missing. Fisher knew what was missing for him, a bottle and a boob, preferably two. Fisher chomped down his last cake and finished with sigh of fulfillment. "Let me tell you Cam, I do not know if there is anything better then cake. Well I can think of one thing." He jabbed Camillus in the arm with his elbow and shot him a wink. "Must you carry yourself with such disgrace while wearing our colors. We are men of the Law." Camillus had a very strict sense of order. "The law?" Fisher questioned "We are not 'Men of the Law,'" ''(His impersonation was impressive) "we are the Law." Fisher's sense of order was loosely held afloat in a see of wine and depravity. "Rorn commands order, it is written, and as children of the Seven and men of Arn we are duty bound to act with respect and honor." "I am not a man of Arn." Fisher looked away northwest, then back at Camillus, "And your holy book does not sway the rebellion to cease nor lead us to this Odaran. God's take me now; I travel miles to escape that Septist shit and now I must hear it from my partner?" "Until you carry yourself with some dignity, you are no partner of mine." Camillus' usually tame temper had risen slightly. "I've a mind to speak with Eve when I get back about his choice of replacement." Just as he spoke the two came upon a ragged camp. It was a large field of soiled tents filled with straw and the people the upper authority of Larkenvale left behind; they were the lowest of the low, here to earn a few scraps of coin shoveling shit, cleaning animals and serving food (and without a proper wash in between). "Well a fine place your faith has led us now." Fisher gazed over the filth. "I would not dare lay in this place," he looked to Camillus, "Imagine what that means." Camillus looked to him and almost smiled but before he could respond he caught sight of a small, extremely white tent to the outskirts of the camp. He pushed passed Fisher to get a better look. As he moved closer he saw a meeting around a campfire. Two women stood across from a young girl and a tall man. "What is it?" Fisher said as he crept up behind Camillus but he was quickly shushed. "I am trying to hear.." He moved a little closer, leaving Fisher behind, doing his best to stay out of sight. He moved behind a tree close to the group and listened in on the conversation. The young girl was yelling and stepping toward the two women. “You don’t even know who….” She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder from the man behind her. “Lady Bell.” He spoke with a calm voice. "Lady Bell! Lead by faith indeed." He thought, "Now all I must do is wait. If these are indeed the people he is after, then Vantar will not be far. He waited a little longer to learn anymore of these two but was left with little info and a new problem; the slave was named Garrah and appeared to be a native of the wastes, the problem however was that he was not staying with his master. The two women, a blonde in red and a brunette with curly hair, had purchased him for some sort of festival game and the master had elected to stay behind. As the trio left 'Lady Bell' moved to her tent, Camillus could have sworn he saw blood upon her face. He moved back to Fisher who was waiting a little ways away, leaning his back against one of the more sturdy tents. A young boy was at his side playing in the dirt. "Ramsey." He looked down at the boy then back up, "Stay here and keep an eye on this girl, if she leave that tent you follow her." He turned to spot the trio as they made their way to the festival grounds. "I shall return in a few hours so try to keep out of trouble." He began to walk away but looked back, "And do not lose her." he turned and made his way to the Festival. "Just my luck..." Fisher remained at the tent, a disgruntled look upon his face. --- ''Camillus' Story: Camillus continued through the camp, past the beggars and the drakes and into the Festival area. He remained a great distance from the trio but kept them in his view especially the slave. It was indeed a strange sight for Camillus however, the two women did not immediately resemble warriors, both were of medium height and fair of skin, and the slave looked as capable of wielding a sword as he was of a brush. They stopped a moment to talk with another girl but Camillus could see little else behind her large red hat. He got almost within earshot but the trio quickly separated and moved on from the red hat girl who quickly disappeared into the crowd. He continued after them for a few moments more before making it to the game grounds. A large field was before him with a circle of posts each adorned with a colored flag meant to represent flame. Upon the field were scattered many eggs of all sizes and colors. At the contest's entrance gate a man with a yellow sash checked teams in. The trio made their way up the line of teams, many of them comprised of rough and rowdy figures; the trio seemed almost out of place in line. Camillus walked to the side of the field and positioned himself behind a large man and his equally hefty wife, careful to keep his group in sight. They were again talking to the red-hatted girl, huddled in a circle. He then looked around again for the one-armed man but Vantar was nowhere, "Hiding in the shadows like evil does." Camillus thought. The officials began to yell and move the teams to their starting points; one team at each flag. One of the organizers entered the field. He lifted his hand into the air and the whole arena went silent. “Play honorably, play fair. Prizes will be awarded on amount of eggs. Great riches may be reaped on this field today.” The eyes of many of the teams exploded with gold lust, the blonde girl's eyes betrayed a hidden fear, “Get ready!” The teams took their starting positions. “Go!” The hunt was a mess of bodies darting this way and that, it was difficult to keep an eye on all of them but Camillus managed; his eyes jumping from person to person. The slaved jumped between strikes and knocked men flat on their backs, he resembled a dog sniffing out some unseen treat. The curly haired girl followed behind cracking men with her shield and pommel; they fell unconscious or scattered to recover. The blonde girl struggled with other man in a wrestling match. He wondered if someone should not help her, was this not a game? His attention was drawn from the match with a tug on his cloak. The same young boy who was playing in the dirt stood before him. "Your friend requests you presence back at you tent, he has located your...oderand." The boy was meek and frail. Camillus turned back to find his trio gone even though the egg hunt continued. He looked around but could find no sign of them. "For your trouble child." Camillus threw him a coin. "And it is an Odaran my boy." He left the games to head back to his tent. Upon arrival he heard a click to his right; he turned in time to see a large red hat dash behind a tent. As he paused the sound of Ramsey speaking with someone came from inside the tent. Fisher's Story: "Just my luck..." Fisher remained at the tent, a disgruntled look upon his face. He watched as Camillus disappeared from view. "...please you can just let me go, I've no qualm with you..." "Silence." A deep and majestic voice spoke. His blade pushed closer to the middle of Fisher's back from within the tent. "Boy, follow that man and send him back to his own tent in one hour." The boy got up and, fingering a bag of coin, he began to follow Camillus, undetected. "Now you come with me." The mystery captor directed Fisher with his blade. "Where are you taking me." Sweat dripped from his head. "To your tent of course." His breath was cold on Fisher's neck. "We have to wait for your partner to finish his search for me." --- The two arrived at the tent just past the festival grounds after only a few minutes. It was a small tent meant only for the two Marshals but it served their need for sleep very well and served Fisher's need for privacy not at all. Upon entry Fisher was met with a crack on the head and all went black. His dreams were short and unpleasant. Not a breast to be found. Fisher awoke in a chair to a sour smell and his body was wet with a thick liquid. "Seven above, what is this shit?" He struggled but found that his body was tied tightly to the chair and he was unable to free himself. "God's damn you! Release me!" But Fisher could hear nothing move and the tent was dark with only a small line light entering from the front. Finally after a short time a voice arose behind him. "I did not expect you to revert to you 'Septist Shit' so quickly Marshal Ramsey." "How...?" Fisher questioned but the answer came to him before and answer was needed. "How long have you been following us?" "You are smarter then you appear Marshal Ramsey." The calm voice mocked, "To answer your first question; that is highly flammable oil used in these lands for burn farming." He rested a candle on Fisher's shoulder. "Long enough. To answer your latest question." The man moved to Fisher's left side. The candle light illuminated his figure. He was a tall man with a long beard that bore a braid down the center and his right arm was missing. Fisher's blood turned to ice. "And to elaborate further I have known you were on my trail since before you stepped aboard your ship from Arn. "Please." Fisher pleaded, "I shall tell you all you wish to know. Please do not kill me." Tears began to well in his eyes. Vantar stared coldly back at him, the silence was long and painful as if the captors gazed moved through him like steel. "You will deliver a message to the authorities of Man for me..." "Anything, please tell me! Anything you ask!" He was frantic and afraid. "What do you wish them to know?" At that moment Camillus burst through the tent flaps, his bow was drawn, an arrow aimed right for Vantar's head. "Release him!" His voice was stern, his gaze focused. "Now Vantar!" Vantar continued to stare at Fisher, "Tell them the world of the Seven will burn; The Goth will be risen." He dropped the candle and Fisher was engulfed in flames, he yelled out for Camillus to save him. Camillus fired his but Vantar was upon him before the shot was off and pushed the bow to the side causing the arrow to fly out the back of the tent. Fisher yelled as his fleshed burned and ignited the tents canopy. Vantar threw the bow from Camillus' hands and, in one motion, drew a knife from his belt and stabbed the Marshal in the side. Camillus grabbed the hand and held it in place, keeping Vantar close; he threw a jab but missed and missed again as he pulled his elbow just over Vantar's dodging head. The assailant released his dagger and loosed his hand from Camillus' grip. With a whip of his now free hand he snatched the right eye from Camillus' head then kicked the man's legs out sending him to the dirt. Vantar gently pushed Camillus over to his back with a foot as the tent burned around them. He placed the foot on Camillus' chest and gripped the knife still in Camillus' side, he let out a terrible yell. "Quiet now, it will be over soon." Vantar spoke as he twisted the knife. Camillus grabbed at his attacker's arm but was too weak to pull himself free. "Your God's have betrayed you." Vantar ripped the knife from Camillus and, pulling himself from the Marshal's weak grip, disappeared out of the flaming tent flaps. As blood filled his remaining good eye, Camillus watched as Fisher's carcass burned before him and fire filled his vision. Category:Character lore